The last time Lana Del Rey played New York City, she made headlines across the world with a less than perfect performance on the TV show Saturday Night Live. She had a live performance redemption on June 7, 2012 at Irving Plaza for the first of 3 sold out shows. Lana-be’s (you’re welcome for that word!) from near and far gathered to watch the self-proclaimed “gangsta Nancy Sinatra” perform songs off her excellent album “Born to Die.”

Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey took the stage at 10 PM after a tortuous set by the rap group Zebra Katz (who were pelted with ice after singing a nearly 15 minute song that repeated “Imma Read Dat Bitch”). The stage was like a mini jungle as there were trees and plants everywhere! Del Rey was backed by a 5 piece band that included a mini orchestral section (and no drummer).

Lana Del Rey

Lana wasted no time making the crowd freak out in delight as she opened with her mega-hit “Blue Jeans.” The crowd sang along to every word of the song (and nearly every song after). “The Body Electric” made its New York debut next and a video of that song will be coming soon so stay tuned! One of the lyrical highlights of that song is “Jesus is my bestest friend.” She sang the lyric “Let me fuck you hard in the pouring rain” during “Born to Die,” and that got some of the biggest cheers of the night.

Lana Del Rey

Over the course of the next 45 minutes, you could tell Lana is developing a better stage presence and she was showered with love by her fans. During many of the songs, fans held their hands out in hopes of Lana touching them and it reminded me of being at a Morrissey concert (and for those wondering, she obliged as often as possible).

Lana Del Rey

If I were to say something bad about the show (aside from Irving Plaza charging an extra $35 per head for an alleged “VIP section!!!), the downside was that the show only consisted of 10 songs, so many great tracks off “Born to Die” (such as “Radio,” “Off To The Races” and “Diet Mountain Dew”) were not played. It hardly seemed to matter to the legions of Lana-be’s who waited after the show to catch a glimpse of the goddess leaving the venue.

So here’s Lana singing “Born to Die” with the line “let me kiss fuck you out in the pouring rain” live in New York from December 5, 2011 at Bowery Ballroom, xclusively on G-TV. If you like this video, check back on this site daily and tell your friends. You never know what I’ve got up my sleeve. Also, for all the LDR haters, please think about this before you spend another second in your cloud of hate – sure Lana is not the best singer on the planet. But she’s also not the worst. Pick and choose your battles! Spread the love, not the hate!